We looked in to updating and refacing and replacing was actually cheaper, and I got exactly what I wanted. I did use a small family shop that was very reasonable though. Not sure how it would compare to name brand cabinets, but it is not always cost effective. Good luck!

We did it in the kids' bathroom. The bathroom vanity cabinet was oversize - there were 2 double sinks, 2 sets of drawers and an extra base cabinet along one wall. The previous homeowner had a a local cabinet maker build custom oak cabinets to fill the wall. When we decided to replace the tub, toilet and sinks we had our contractor give us quotes for new cabinets too. But the standard sizes didn't fit, we didn't want to use fillers and DH didn't want to have them painted.

Our contractor told us that the cabinet boxes were well made, sturdy and plumb and he suggested refacing them. He ordered new drawer and door fronts and I watched his cabinet maker refinish the frames. We were very pleased with the results - and in our case it was significantly cheaper than going with new cabinets.

I had it done in my kitchen by a guy who does this for a business. Fantastic and way less costly than I expected.

Vacation rentals are supposed to be a bit tacky, aren't they?

If the cabinets are sturdy and the layout is workable, get the place rented out. Between rentals, with the money from the rentals, do improvements and increase the rent because the place is improved.

My kitchen remodel was essentially a refresh or facelift. Initially I had someone from the HD reface team come over and I didn't like him, his pitch, or his prices. I ended up going a different route, via a KD, and got new doors and drawer fronts, added crown moulding and went from golden oak to creamy white.

Reveal thread

Painting was the expensive part. The maple doors (with MDF inserts) and drawer fronts were not. If you keep them stained and match the color, it should cost less than painting

Are the existing cabinets laminate? Hard to tell from the picture.

If you've got good-quality cabinets and are happy with the layout, then refinishing/refacing can do a great job of updating for much less than equivalent-grade cabinets. We refaced our cabinets rather than go for the entry-level cabinets which were most comparable dollar-wise. We're very happy with the results. As others have pointed out, try to steer clear of the big-name/high-pressure/high-price vendors. And watch the "extries" -- drawer extensions, custom pullouts, etc., all rack up the price really quick.

If you're getting your sink replaced, please do so before you reface. I had to cut the center style out of the sink cabinet pictured above to get the new sink in. I couldn't take the cabinet front off because the seams between the cabinets had been refaced over. Fortunately, the refacers had to come back out anyway, so I let them fix the style.

Thanks all! I am heading up to the cabin today to get a better look at the cabinets and gauge the quality. I will probably reface the bathroom vanity regardless as I like everything except the actual doors. The kitchen needs to be reconfigured so I am going to see if the cabinets will stand up to being pulled out and moved around.

I'm having my kitchen and one bathroom refaced mid-December. I found a guy through the the cabinet maker that will be making the doors and drawers. His price (as well as others I got quotes from) was 1/3 of Home Depot's sale price and it includes more than Home Depot.

We did a DIY refacing 3 or 4 yrs ago. We liked our footprint, the boxes were sturdy and in good shape. The doors were not a style we liked and they were showing signs of age. I didn't want a full tear out, to be without a working kitchen for weeks, so we opted for the refacing. We used Conestoga materials, very happy with the quality. It was a lot of work, veneering is tedious and tricky, but it came out great. I think hiring someone to reface might not be much cheaper than replacing, due to the labor involved in refacing. But for us, we did save a lot of money by doing it ourselves. Its not a job for everyone, but my husband is handy and he did a good job.